Dear Member
Myself and the regional team are working with the private sector care homes and care service within the communities, nurseries and academies to ensure you are being treated right by your employer. Thankfully in most cases you are. However in some you are not and we will do our upmost to ensure this changes. We truly have heard some awful stories.
Jill and Dennis your Assistant Branch Secretaries are picking up your calls and emails from all our members within Derby City Council. Both are being supported by our regional team. Jill should be enjoying her Easter Break as she is term time employed however the employer has granted her some extended facility time to support COVID-19. Jill will be working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday both weeks over the Easter Holidays.
Julie continues to support our members within Derby Homes.
Our Branch Team are working remotely and we also, are adapting to new ways of working. I’m proud of how we have come together as a team and continue to put the members first and in this crazy time still able to recruit new members.
On Tuesday we sent an email out about learning with UNISON, there are 100s of free courses available and we shared a small selection of courses with you. Take a look, while we’re in these times of lockdown why not do something for you! You never know where a few new qualifications and certificates can take you. If you are unable to print out any certificates you earn, I am happy to print the certificates for you and pop it in the post.
We, again would like to express our sincere THANK YOU’S, to you all. If your staying at home keeping you and your families safe, if your an essential worker and continuing to work or if your in isolation because you are or have been poorly or because you have been advised to. THANK YOU.
Everybody is doing there bit.
In these tough times try and find a positive every day.
If you have a colleague who would benefit from UNISON support right now regarding a COVID-19 situation, there is no better time to join, our 4 week joining rule has been lifted for the current time so we can ensure we can help more of you at this difficult time.
New members can join online just type “join UNISON” in your search bar.
Or email me for a membership form to be sent out to you, but please note, our post is being posted weekly and collected weekly while we also follow guidelines to keep safe while we work.
Should you need any help and support during COVID-19. Derby Response Hub can be contacted on 01332 640000 they can help with a wide range of services including collecting medication, essential shopping, dog walking and even a friendly chat if you need it.
Easter working arrangements for UNISON Derby City Branch.
Good Friday – closed
Bank Holiday Monday Closed
Reopen Tuesday 14th April 9am
Branch Officers will not be answering the phones over the Easter holidays.
We would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter Break we will all be celebrating Easter differently this year but we hope you manage to enjoy it.
If your working – Thank you.
Keep yourself well, look after each other and stay safe.
Becky Everett
Branch Secretary
UNISON Derby City Branch
beckyeverett@derbyunison.org
help@derbyunison.org
Unison Community Conference started with focussed meetings on service areas. I attended the housing association session which looked at issues facing housing staff across the country, discussed best practice and challenges still very prevalent in the sectors. Issues discussed ranged from universal credit challenges, leaseholder issues, staffing issues, support networks, mental health issues, working with tenants, staff bonuses. Outcomes from this were for a specific newsletter for housing related information and support to be put together to share best practice and inform of useful information.
There was then a speech from RT HON Mark Drakeford AM (First Minister of Wales) who covered issues which related to the Housing Crisis, Right to Buy, community issues, success stories from Wales and also fielded questions from delegates,